Creating an Amusement Park: The Art and Science of Ride Selection

After completing the strategic planning, amusement park construction enters its core phase: facility selection. This step directly determines the park’s appeal, customer reach, and operational efficiency. As a global supplier of hundreds of rides, HOTFUN understands that each ride is not isolated but needs to be deeply integrated with the park’s theme, target audience, and operational plan to maximize its value.

1. Matching the Target Audience: Targeting the Facilities to Their Needs

The primary principle of facility selection is to meet the needs of the target audience. Visitors of different age groups and spending preferences have distinct expectations of rides.

Children (ages 3-12): Children in this age group prefer attractions with vibrant colors, a slow pace, and interactive elements. HOTFUN’s “Fairytale Carousel” series, with its soft lighting, cartoon-themed designs, and slow rotation, is a favorite among younger children. The “Mini Pirate Ship” offers a gentle rocking thrill while ensuring safety, making it suitable for older children. In addition, the highly interactive “Kids Driving School” facility allows children to learn traffic rules through simulated driving, combining fun and educational value.

Teens and young adults (13-35 years old): These groups seek thrills and challenges and are the primary audience for extreme rides like roller coasters and pendulums. HOTFUN’s “Thunder Coaster” features the latest track design, incorporating 360-degree flips and rapid dives, reaching speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour for an intense sensory experience. “Star Pendulum” combines high-altitude rotations and swings, giving guests a thrilling alternating experience of weightlessness and hypergravity.

Families (multi-generational travelers): Families should choose rides that the entire family can enjoy together. The Ferris wheel is a classic choice. HOTFUN’s “Giant Ferris Wheel” soars 100 meters and features a fully enclosed cabin, allowing guests to enjoy the surrounding scenery as it slowly ascends, making it suitable for all ages. Bumper cars allow families to bond through interactive collisions, creating a joyful atmosphere.

2. Echo the park’s theme: Make the rides part of the narrative.

As mentioned earlier, the theme is the heart of the amusement park, and the rides are a crucial vehicle for the narrative. Choosing rides that align with the theme can enhance the visitor’s sense of immersion.

For a park themed “Ocean World,” HOTFUN’s “Deep Sea Adventure Roller Coaster” is an excellent choice. Its track design simulates the undulations of an underwater canyon, and the trains are shaped like sharks or dolphins. Along the way, the lights and sound effects create a sense of deep-sea adventure. The “Spinning Octopus” can be transformed into a “Spinning Jellyfish,” with a canopy resembling a transparent jellyfish umbrella and seats transformed into colorful tentacles, perfectly integrating with the theme. For a “space exploration” theme park, the “Starship” attraction allows guests to experience the sensation of simulated space flight, with cabin sound effects and lighting emulating interstellar travel. The “Moonwalk” attraction, through its unique floor design and simulated weightlessness, allows guests to experience the wonder of walking on the moon.

3. Balancing Ride Types: Balancing Diversity and Complementarity

A successful amusement park must have a rich variety of ride types that complement each other to avoid homogenous competition.

Balance between Thrill and Relaxation: An excessive concentration of thrill-seeking attractions can turn off some visitors, while an all-relaxation approach can fail to attract thrill-seekers. The optimal ratio should be determined based on the proportion of different preferences within the target audience. A general recommendation is to maintain a ratio of thrill to relaxation between 3:7 and 5:5.

Combining Dynamic and Static Rides: Dynamic rides such as roller coasters and pirate ships provide an intense motion experience, while static rides such as observation decks and interactive exhibits offer guests a break from the action. For example, installing a “Star Observatory” near the “Adventure Zone,” where thrilling attractions are concentrated, can both ease visitors’ nerves and enhance the park’s educational offerings.

Indoor and outdoor integration: Outdoor facilities are significantly affected by weather, while indoor facilities can remain operational even in rainy weather or during extreme heat or cold. HOTFUN’s “Indoor Dark Ride” combines 4D imaging with track motion, allowing guests to experience the thrill of traveling through a fantasy world indoors, complementing the large-scale outdoor facilities.

4. Considering Operational Efficiency: Examining Long-Term Returns from Facility Characteristics

Facility selection should not only consider appeal, but also operating costs, maintenance requirements, and passenger capacity, all of which directly impact the park’s long-term profitability.

Patronage: During peak periods, such as holidays, high-capacity facilities can effectively reduce queues and improve visitor satisfaction. HOTFUN’s “Rapids” ride utilizes multiple boats operating simultaneously, accommodating 800-1000 guests per hour. The “Rotating Flying Chair” utilizes multiple seats distributed around a circumference for efficient passenger transport.

Maintenance Costs: The maintenance difficulty and cost of different rides vary significantly. For example, roller coasters with complex mechanical structures have relatively high maintenance costs, while carousels with simpler structures are easier to maintain. Choosing a suitable ride requires careful consideration of the park’s budget and the capabilities of the maintenance team. HOTFUN provides detailed maintenance manuals and regular inspections for each ride to help customers reduce maintenance costs.

Energy Consumption and Environmental Protection: With growing environmental awareness, low-energy and environmentally friendly rides are becoming increasingly popular. HOTFUN’s “Solar Bumper Cars” are solar-powered, reducing reliance on traditional energy sources. Some rides are made of recyclable and environmentally friendly materials, aligning with the concept of green development.

5. Reserve Upgrade Potential: Keeping the Park Fresh

The amusement industry is rapidly evolving, with new rides and technologies constantly emerging. When selecting an attraction, it’s important to allow for future upgrades and updates.

Many of HOTFUN’s attractions feature modular designs, allowing for easy modification and upgrades. For example, the interactive dark ride’s visual content can be regularly updated, with changing storylines to keep the attraction engaging.